http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2008/12/04/cracked_nuts Comments On: Cracked Nuts by David Schmader en-us Copyright 2009 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:01 -0800 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:15:00 -0800 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by Sociopathic Parent #1]]> Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:40:04 -0800 The Stranger Posted by kay]]> Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:22:14 -0800 The Stranger I'm not saying I agree with THAT entirely, but man, how things have changed.
Manners begin in the home. I taught my son how to behave in public before we ventured out into public places, and then we began with places where lessons in manners would not be a nuisance.
By the time we went to see The Nutcracker with his 3rd grade class, he was perfectly behaved.
Even before that, he was just as annoyed with ill behaved kids or adults as any of you, whether we were in a family movie or at a family restaurant or the grocery store. Yes, sometimes he forgets how he is supposed to be acting, but it all it takes is a subtle reminder and we're back on track.
Posted by I]]> Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:07:25 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Yakdan]]> Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:33:34 -0800 The Stranger Posted by SDizzle]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:00:23 -0800 The Stranger Boogie Nights!
Posted by elswinger]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:06:48 -0800 The Stranger
and @27? I HAVE ADHD. LOTS OF IT. REAL BAD. when i couldn't handle sitting still and being quiet in the theater we would quietly excuse ourselves and giggle and run laps in the atrium for a few minutes while the show was going on until i was ready to go back. it was a special, fun time with my mom and we managed to complete the whole transaction without ruining the show for everyone around us.

there's plenty of fun holiday stuff to do where you can be loud and squirmy as you want. if your kid can't handle being quiet, then either wait a couple years or go to a matinee. it's really not that big of a deal.
Posted by sophie]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:47:47 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Mike]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:41:39 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Sam]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:18:07 -0800 The Stranger
Ever be around a kid before? They ask question and then they ask the same question over and over again. It's what they do, and it's probably what the writer of this letter did if their parents ever took them to the ballet when they were little.

I will take my kid to the ballet or theater or art museum or where ever. They will learn to value art, and in twenty years you can thank me for helping to groom the next generation of patrons. I will also duct tape your ass together, you loud sighing son of a bitch, if you so much as point your hairy eyeball at us.
Posted by tabletop_joe]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:05:02 -0800 The Stranger Posted by apres_moi]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:47:01 -0800 The Stranger
So again, I blame the parents because they weren't doing their jobs as parents by neither teaching the kids what the Nutcracker or what a ballet is beforehand.
Posted by apres_moi]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:43:12 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Doo-Hickey]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:40:48 -0800 The Stranger The Firebird by Stravinsky I would have strangled the brat and her dad too.
Posted by elswinger]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:39:36 -0800 The Stranger Posted by elswinger]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:37:39 -0800 The Stranger
For all you know, I or my fellow "shitty excuses for human beings" might have children with severe ADHD/autism spectrum disorders. For all you know, we were raised with a sibling who has Asperger's, and grew up understanding the difficulty of moderating that child's behavior. Forget controlling said behavior.

But it comes down to the parenting, and it's part of a parent's job to keep public disruption to a minimum. That means they need to be taught basic manners and common courtesies. Even kids with ASD can be taught. And until they can learn those basic manners and common courtesies, they should not be taken to events like the Nutcracker, where the point is to be quiet and watch what's going on onstage.
Posted by Dex]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:29:16 -0800 The Stranger Posted by I am your Mother]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:40:21 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Darcy]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:33:07 -0800 The Stranger I'm with #16 ftw. Parents and educators need to prep kids so they know what they're in for before going to a play, movie, ballet, etc. When I was in elementary school (admittedly, almost 100 years ago), we were taken to shows on a regular basis and beforehand the teachers not only gave us an intro to the production, but also taught us how to behave, both in the theatre, in the lobby...and even ON THE BUS going to the show!
Posted by Dingleberries]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:28:39 -0800 The Stranger
thanks for acknowledging your own psychosis.
Posted by I, Asshole]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:22:25 -0800 The Stranger kids who were being obnoxious, disruptive, and loudly talking...It was the father. He was yakking at the top of his lungs (okay, maybe it just seemed that way to me, but still he was a loud jerk) to both the other adults in his party and on the phone. I started off with a polite, "excuse, me I'm trying to watch the show", to a more aggressive (yet, gentle) poke to the back of the neck, and then finally just hauled off and thwacked him on the back of the head with some programs and other folder-y type stuff. He turned around in shock and I hissed "SHUT.THE.FUCK.UP...I came to see this! NOT.LISTEN.TO.YOU!". The psychotic glint in my eye must have convinced him because I didn't hear a peep out of him for the rest of the night.
Posted by Your Anonymous Name Here]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:17:36 -0800 The Stranger
Gawd, I get so sick of people who assume instantly that one is a child-hater if one dislikes ill-behaved children and their oblivious moron parents. That's just stupid.
Posted by Geni]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:09:35 -0800 The Stranger Posted by treehorn @ 18 ftw]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:06:42 -0800 The Stranger Posted by danindowntown]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:05:39 -0800 The Stranger Posted by julie russell]]> Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:05:24 -0800 The Stranger